Schoema arrives and a book too...

I've been keeping my eyes peeled now since Christmas to get my hands on an LGB Schoema diesel and tracked down a 2006 starter set example with low mileage.

The locomotive will receive some light body detailing to replace the moulded handrails with brass wire and then a respray in red/orange. Why? It's going to represent the EJ&KLR in more modern times, inspired by images of the StLB on the Ratten line, using a number of diesel electrics on the remaining freight services.

I also received a book I ordered on the German Amazon. Titled 'Steyrtalbahn - Erzbergbahn - Waldviertelbahn', it's a pictorial record, in German. In the UK it was fetching around £20-30 second hand. This one? €6, plus €4 postage. Bargain. It took about a week to arrive but was worth it, it's a lovely collection of beautiful photos, both artistic, historically interesting and capture the life of the railway too. Over 50% of the book is about the Steyrtalbahn, with then a section on a standard gauge rack line and a short section with another set of awesome photographs of the Waldviertelbahn, capturing it's famous 399 Engarths and roll-wagens.

Highly recommended, both the book and the option of using German Amazon to source german language second hand books.

Some exploratory clearance...

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had outline planning permission for a layout in the garden at my own home. This one is going to represent a second EJ&KLR branch, just like the StLB inspiration in Austria.

The area is of a decent size, with a slight gradient to deal with. Over the coming months I'll bd clearing the existing planting and sorting the bin area first. Watch this space!

Coupling bar...

I've made some progress with the Roll-wagen after my order from Eileen's Emporium arrived with the 5mm diameter brass rod and 0.5x5mm brass section. It clips over an LGB wagon buffer, and is articulated at each end with a link and pin.

Oh for a standard gauge interchange...

Regular readers will have followed my progress with the Roll-wagen now for several months. One thing I'm drawn to in G-scale is the mass of the models and with the Roll-wagen this means the possibility of actually loading your own standard gauge train onto the narrow gauge. There are RTR Roll-wagens in HOe scale (3.5mm to the foot, 1:87 scale) but these are lightweight and look relatively unstable - I certainly wouldn't want to try shunting them into a train adding the connecting links as you move one standard gauge wagon at a time on board... But in G-scale, this feels really possible...

Then I found this video...


Now I'm trying to work out how I can work a standard gauge interchange into the proposed new EJ&KLR branch that I'm planning for my home with work starting later this year...

If that comes to fruition then I may well need to recreate this initial prototype Roll-wagen on a larger, more efficient (and potentially more stable and robust) scale.

Roll-wagen rolls...

Tonight another milestone on my scratch built roll-wagen project, I've fitted the bogies to the chassis!

The cross beams are 3mm thick plasticard, to which a 5mm length of 5mm diameter plastic tube is stuck. The bogies then have a stretcher bar glued into their frames with a 5mm hole drilled through. They then simply slot together. The black plasticard means I can get away without painting the rubbing surfaces.

So onto the test track and it rolls easily and into and out of the R1 curve with no problem. You can hear the wheels slightly rubbing but it's not designed for R1s so I'm happy with that. Even better the height above rail is spot on the drawing I based the model on!

Next up working out how to do the coupling bars.

Roll-wagen will do R1...

I've worked out how to mount the bogies but before I cut plastic and commit I've taken the chance to pick up a couple of R1 curves from my parent's home to check if the Roll-wagen could cope.

On paper it looked possible and I'm pleased to announce that although it's exceedingly tight, it does just go round.

Result! Although in normal use it'll only see R2 as a minimum it's nice to know I can use it without restriction.

Roll-wagen takes shape...

I've been slowly working away at the Roll-wagen project this week and this evening managed to get the final pair of cross braces in to allow the second I section beam to be firmly attached. I'm working to photographs and drawings but this will definitely be an impression rather than a scale model.

Chassis progress...

One of my two winter projects is progressing as the chassis progresses on the roll wagen. I've fabricated the end cross members from 60 thou plasticard. I'll be using a similar technique for the ones in the middle and hope to progress the bogie mountings next.

In the next few weeks I should have a rolling chassis that I can then move onto detailing...

A second Bahn Im Bild...

I picked up a copy of Bahn Im Bild 43 from Martin Bott this week, a wonderful pictorial of the StLB, the Styrian Provincial Government Railway narrow gauge lines to Stainz and Ratten. Plenty of inspiration for the EJ&KLR, and the potential second line to be built at my own home in the next 12 months...

In search of realism...

Model railways are a wonderful hobby... What other offers such variety - from planning, research, building a layout, modelling scenery, rolling stock, buildings - and to that weathering, kit building, scratchbuilding - the list goes on and on. I enjoy most aspects - particularly the early stuff (planning and research) and the modifying of models either through refurbishment, conversion or just simple repainting.

Then throughout this whole spectrum runs photography.

We search and aspire to realism, but if we cannot then photograph a model in a way to satisfy our aspirations then it can be very frustrating.

The advantage with a garden line is natural light, the disadvantage it chunky track, overscale ballast and other scenery. However I think it's mostly down to composition. All these photos have been modified in iPhoto (made black and white, adjusted contrast, exposure and shadows) - but it's not the trickery that has made them successful, it's a combination of a good angle in the first place (most of these I had to lie down to take) combined with a complementary cropping out of background distraction and foreground blurring.

I hope you readers enjoy the photographs of the finished product as much as I do building - and most of all running it.

January maintenance...

One of the joys of a garden railway is the maintenance required to keep it in good condition. I'm lucky that my Mum keeps on top of the weeding most of the time, but she leaves the track maintenance down to me. This time of year is a good time to check for subsidence in your road bed and top of the ballast.

I have been slowly working my way along the embankment making sure it's firm and supported, tamping the ballast on several occasions. Yesterday I also added some top soil to the slope to better support the ballast edge as well as get a better slope on the embankment. Once this was pressed down and firmed up I topped up the ballast along the top edge.

I also took to generally tidying up the 'edge' of the ballast all the way around the line. All in all a pleasant hour spent maintaining the right of way whilst having some relaxation and reflection time.

Obviously, the line then needed extensive testing (see yesterdays post!)

In rememberance...

This time last year I received a phone call from my Mum telling me that my Dad had passed away that morning. The EJ&KLR was our last 'hurrah', a father, son (and grandaughter) project to bring us closer together. I never thought this time last year that I'd be sat hear writing about how I spent the day just playing trains on my own on an established and settled garden railway.

From EJ&KLR in rememberance

So a quiet, reflective and personal day. One that I had to do on my own. A garden railway should be shared, but at some times it's just nice to be alone with your big toys and just sit back and enjoy watching the trains go by...

Enjoy the photos.

EJ&KLR in rememberance

Keith David Hilton - 25/6/1942 - 10/1/2011

Roll wagen slow progress...

I've crafted the second of the bogies for the roll wagen project and thoughts now turn to chassis construction. I've got some good ideas for that, using 60 thou plasticard and building it up in sections as the prototype. What I'm pondering most is how to do the bogie pivots, I need them to be smooth but stable. A tricky compromise.

Winter service at Alisendorf...

This morning the winter service was spotted at Alisendorf made up of the Piko railbus. Track powered but with 8 pick ups it ran without any track cleaning with no problems.